Pink Eye: Causes and Treatments

You wake up in the morning, and you or your child has an eyelid that is crusted together and is painful to try and open, if not impossible. Or, you wake up and your eyes are painful, watery, and sensitive to light. Both of these scenarios are a common occurrence with pink eye. Younger children are often more susceptible, pink eye is easy to pass from person to person, which makes schools a good setting for this eye emergency to thrive. Anyone can be affected by pink eye, not just children. Come into TSO Katy and have your eyes checked by your local Katy optometrist for the pain associated with pink eye right away.

What is Pink Eye?

What is Pink Eye?

Is Pink Eye An Emergency?

Conjunctivitis, commonly known as pink eye or an eye infection, is a common eye emergency, that in almost all cases is easily treated by an optometrist. As mentioned, pink eye can affect anyone, but younger children are most at risk due to the highly contagious nature of the infection. Proper handwashing techniques can reduce the transfer of the infection. There are 3 types of pink eye: bacterial, viral, and other. The treatment usually involves coming in to TSO Katy to see your Katy, Texas optometrist as a first recourse, in order to determine what further treatment is appropriate.

Common symptoms of Pink Eye include:

Crusty or gritty feeling as if you have sand in your eye

Itchy or burning feeling in one or both eyes

Fluid discharge from one or both eyes

Swollen or puffy eyelids

Pink discoloration of the whites (sclera) of one or both eyes

Increased sensitivity to light or difficulty with night driving

Uncontrollable tearing

What You Should Do If You Have An Eye Infection

Bacterial Conjunctivitis

Bacterial pink eye consists of a green or yellow discharge that causes sticky residue to build up. This residue causes the eyelids to stick together, usually during the night. Bacterial pink eye is contagious and will need antibiotic ointment or antibiotic drops to clear up the infection. Using a wet washcloth to wipe away the residue will help some with the residual symptoms. Do not share the washcloth with anyone in order to prevent the spreading of pink eye. Wash hands thoroughly when you touch an infected eye.

Viral Conjunctivitis

Viral pink eye is different from bacterial pink eye. This type does not require antibiotics, but be sure to visit TSO Katy to see an eye doctor if you are unsure if the symptoms are from bacterial or viral. Viral pink eye symptoms include watery, itchy eyes and sensitivity to light. This form of pink eye is also contagious, so take care to wash your hands thoroughly in order to prevent spreading. It will go away without treatment, but using a warm, wet washcloth to gently wipe the eye helps with the symptoms. Again, do not share the washcloth.

Other Conjunctivitis

The last form of pink eye is noticed because of the watery, burning, itchy eyes and usually goes along with a runny, stuffy nose. Both of the eyes will be affected, and this form is not contagious. Allergy medication being taken regularly can help alleviate the symptoms of this form of pink eye. In more severe cases your optometrist may recommend nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, antihistamines, topical steroid eye drops.

Anyone can be affected by pink eye, and it is commonly spread from touching an infected eye and not washing your hands after. The infection and pain associated with pink eye should be checked right away by an eye care professional. When you have an eye emergency, such as pink eye, please walk-in to TSO Katy to be checked by your local Katy optometrist.

Meet Our Optometrist

Questions And Answers

Questions And Answers

What is the most important thing to do if I have an eye emergency?

The most important thing is to not panic. Most eye emergencies are treated successfully by our optometrist. If you are concerned please call our office, if it is after hours please use your judgment regarding visiting an emergency room or urgent care facility.

Is pink eye/eye infection dangerous?

In almost all cases eye infections will clear up in time, however, it is always a good idea to schedule an eye exam in order to ensure that the infection clears up quickly and reduces the chances of complications.

Do i need to see an optometrist for pink eye?

One of the most common questions we get about pink eye is, "when do I need to visit an optometrist for an eye infection?"

Our optometrists recommend scheduling for all cases of pink eye in order to reduce spreading the infection, reduce symptoms and discomfort, and prevent or rule out other issues.

Will an eye infection clear up on its own?

Viral eye infections should go away in 2-14 days unless there are other complications.

Bacterial eye infections can last for longer than a month even with antibiotic treatment, however, once antibiotics have been started the patient will no longer be contagious in 24 hours.

Infections caused by allergies will go away once the cause of the allergy is removed or once treatment has been started.

If you are concerned about your infection not going away, give our optometrists a call.

We are OPEN for you!

Our top priority has always and continues to be the health and safety of our patients and staff. We are extremely committed to providing you with the safest and most dependable eye care service possible, even during this challenging time.

For the Protection of our patients and staff extra safety measures are being taken including:

Limited Appointment Scheduling - in order to ensure we are able to properly disinfect and adhere to Social Distancing Guidelines set forth by our local authority. Certainly, urgent and emergency patients will be prioritized.

Fever Free Environment - Temperatures will be taken upon entering the clinic of all patients. Anyone with 99.5 degrees or higher will be asked to reschedule. Anyone who is taking a fever-reducing medication such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen will be asked to reschedule once the medication is clear from their system so we can be sure of an accurate temperature reading.

Pre-Screening Questionnaire - We will continue to ask any patient with URI symptoms to reschedule their appointment until they have been asymptomatic for 3 days or have a negative COVID test.

Face Covering - We are requiring everyone entering our clinics to wear some type of facial covering such as a homemade mask, scarf, bandana, or handkerchief.

Wash hands and sanitize - Upon entering our clinic, everyone will be asked to sanitize their hands. Additionally, we will request they sanitize their hands before re-entering the business area.

All TSO staff with direct patient contact will be required to wear a mask.

Increase cleaning and sanitation of our frames, exam equipment, an all high-traffic areas before and after every patient.

Social Distancing - We are limiting the number of patients in our office and are asking, when possible, only the patient enters our clinics for their visit. Please ask the person with your patient to stay in their car. We can text them if they need their assistance.

We are continuing to help people see the important things in life, even during these difficult times for all of us.